


Love Like Ember

by HunnyDreams42



Category: The Umbrella Academy (TV)
Genre: Different powers for Vanya and Klaus, I have no clue if this will be a short story or a long story, Naughty language, Pseudo-Incest, Slightly altered powers for everyone else, The Handler has Ursula makeup, Their not related, Vanya and Klaus are codependent, We're living dangerously in the unknown of how many chapters this will be lol, WhiteKracken, kind of, klaus and vanya are twins
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-05-11
Updated: 2019-09-09
Packaged: 2020-02-27 16:36:05
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 5
Words: 16,580
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18742870
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/HunnyDreams42/pseuds/HunnyDreams42
Summary: Vanya and Klaus are taken by a power seeking organization known as The Commission.





	1. Chapter 1

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey everyone 😁
> 
> So I've had this idea in my head for a minute now and I decided to write it out and pray to the cupcake gods above that it turns out how I imagine it to in my head lmfao 
> 
> Hope you guys enjoy the photo collages and the first chapter 🙂

* * *

They're moving again. Her and Klaus packed their measly belongings which consisted of toiletries and clothing and took off in their run down car. They didn't pause and they didn't look back, they never did. To settle and get attached to one place was dangerous, they should have known better, in their foolishness they attracted the attention of The Commission which is the last thing they wanted. It was a rookie mistake to make on their part. 

Vanya and Klaus grew up hearing horror stories of The Commission, how they treated people like them, special people with gifts that allowed them to do extraordinary things.This was possible because some people were born with an extra chromosome, doctors that had studied the first patients that exhibited this chrome called it an Aberrant Chromosome. No one knows just when this Chrome started developing in people nor does the Chrome have any particular pattern to those who it attaches itself to. The studies performed didn't yield much results that gave insight into what about the Chrome allowed people their gifts, all that was known is that it altered their DNA, it made them different, it made them special. 

Grace, their adoptive mother who was their biological mother's sister told them about The Commission. She had raised them in a secluded cabin that was in the middle of no where, nothing but empty brown fields surrounded it. Their parents had died in a car crash not long after they were born, the twins were then given to their aunt Grace. She took her job as their protector seriously and had moved all of them away from prying eyes. They were each born with an Aberrant Chrome and Grace had told them when they got older she was taking no chances of The Commission finding them and taking them away from her.

Their Chromes were unique in the sense that they complimented each other as a whole that was split just as they were. Together they had control over the four elements, individually Vanya controlled Water and Earth, Klaus controlled Fire and Air. Grace had drilled into them that they were extraordinary and bad people in the world wanted to control that, use it, weaponize it and make more like it and they couldn't allow that to happen.

She had died protecting them from The Commission, an organization that housed the bad people they were warned about since they were in diapers. They didn't believe Grace for the longest time because they were sheltered but when men in black leather came into the cabin armed with guns and needles they knew those horror stories weren't just stories. It was because of Grace that they were able to escape, it costed her life in return for their freedom.

That was 8 years ago, Klaus and Vanya have been on the run since. They never did find out how The Commission found them hidden in their cabin, they still don't know how they pick up their trail even now years later, but they always do, and when that happens they leave everything they managed to build and start over in the next city or town. 

They didn't have a real life, they couldn't set down roots or connect with people in fear of getting caught. All they had was each other, their powers, and their one suitcase a piece.

“What are you thinking about?” Klaus asked her from his place in the driver seat, they were on a long dead road heading to god knows where to start over and it was Klaus's turn to drive.

“Nothing in particular,” Klaus threw a frown her way knowing she was lying, sometimes she really hates that their twins, they couldn't lie to each other without the other one knowing it. Vanya isn't sure how it works for other twins, if it's normal or not but she and Klaus were connected, she felt his presence in her head and in her emotions, just has he felt her, in a lot of ways they were the same person though their personalities don't reflect it.

Klaus was the more outspoken of them, Vanya tended to fade into the background but not Klaus. He attracted attention like a beacon which wasn't a good thing, trying to keep a low profile didn't work with bright colored shirts and leather so tight it looked painted on.

“You want to try that again?” He smirked at her, his eyes shifted from the road to her and back again.

“Are we ever gonna be able to live a normal life?” It was an old topic that Vanya has yet to accept, Klaus was okay with the idea of constantly moving and jumping from place to place, he didn't like it but as long as he and Vanya were safe then he could ask for nothing more. But Vanya wanted to settle down, she wanted to find someone to be with and share a life with, she wanted that all consuming love in the trashy romance novels her and Klaus would read.

“You know the answer to that,” Klaus answered back, he hated the disappointment and sadness that shined in his twins eyes. He didn't like when Vanya brought up the topic, his answer to that same question never changed. .

“It's not the answer I want,” Vanya replied with bitterness, it was unfair of her to treat it like it was Klaus's fault and she knew that but that was the problem with not having anyone else around them, they often had to play multiple people for each other, a friend, a sibling, a parent, a mentor, a therapist, whatever they needed in that moment.

“It's never gonna be,” Klaus gently said, he reached his hand across the middle compartment that separated them and grabbed her hand that was in her lap and gave it a squeeze.

“Where are we even going?” She changed the subject, the more she thought about all the things she couldn't experience in her life the more bitter she was to the wrong person and Klaus has never deserved to be on the receiving end of her wrath.

“Hell if I know,” she rolled her eyes at his response. They never did set out a plan before leaving, they just drove until one or both of them were tired of driving and they would chose the next town or city they came across as their temporary living place.

“I don't want to keep driving this time Klaus, I want to have a destination in mind,” she said to him, she wasn't in the mood for their mini road trips, the last place they were coming from has been the longest that they've been able to stay in one area without worry (at least it was until The Commission ruined it for them), but being there for those months had Vanya hoping for something that couldn't be and she grew spoiled in that time. She wasn't ready to let the delusion go yet.

“We'll stop sooner this time but not before I know we're a good distance away,” she could deal with that, it was better then him telling her to just deal with it.

Klaus was older by 6 minutes and he took his role as “big” brother to heart, sometimes to much and it ends up causing an argument between them. He was to overprotective, it suffocated her more then they already were but if Vanya stops to think where she would be today if Klaus wasn't with her she has to admit she doesn't like the answer. Her and Klaus needed each other, they've never been separated for very long, the longest having been 2 days and that was when they were young and Vanya begged Grace to take her to the city to feel normal, they went and played pretend for an entire weekend. When they had gotten back to the cabin Klaus attached himself to her and wouldn't let her out of his sight for more then a few minutes. Since then they have only spent a few hours tops away from the other. Which was for the best, they were being hunted like prey and they stood a better chance together then they did apart so to be separated for very long was dangerous for them. 

They drove and drove and then drove some more, her and Klaus switching seats every couple hours so one or the other wouldn't be driving more. It was a mostly silent drive, conversation was nonexistent after Vanya brought up the lack of order and rhythm in their lives. Klaus hated that he couldn't give her that but she had to understand that to give her what she wanted he would be signing her over to The Commission.

After what felt like days later they finally stopped, Vanya didn't know what city or town they were in, she truthfully didn't care as long as they could get out of the car and rest on an actual bed. She would take hell at this point if it had a bed and blanket. Klaus was driving again and he pulled the car into the next Motel parking lot that they came across.

“Come on, let's go rent a room,” he told her as he exited the car, Vanya following suit. She paused outside the car door to stretch her legs and arms out, she was tiny compared to Klaus's lanky tall figure but it didn't mean her bones were any more equipped to being packed in a tiny car for a long duration of time. Her bones cracked and popped as she twisted herself about to get the soreness out.

They walked together to the front office where an over weight middle aged lady with bright pink eye-shadow, red lipstick and dyed black hair sat behind the wooden desk that looked a second away from collapsing. She had absurdly long nails that had jewels the size of Vanya's finger nail on them, she was smacking a piece of gum between her teeth like she was doing her best impersonation of a cow.

Vanya hated coming to places that looked like people got murdered in them, her and Klaus could protect themselves just fine but they still made her cringe.

“How can I help you?” The lady spoke, she looked between Klaus and Vanya curiously. 

“One room please,” Klaus took the lead as he always did. Vanya was content to stay at his back and let him do all the talking.

“One bed or two?” The lady asked, she started typing on a keyboard that connected to an ancient computer that has seen better days. Klaus looked to his back in silent question, the grip on his shirt from Vanya's hand gave him his answer. Vanya would want to cuddle with a warm body tonight, sometimes she got in these bouts where she clinged to Klaus in need of another person's comfort, most times it was right after taking off from whatever town or city they were in and moving on to the next one.

“One,” he stated as he pulled out his fake ID that said his name was Liam Grey and a wad of cash to pay for the room for the night.

It took far to long to get a room but eventually the lady finally handed them over the key card and wish them a half hearted “good night” and “enjoy your stay” before she turned her attention to her insane nails.

Klaus grabbed her hand and led her out the door and to the car for their suitcases, and after that to the room. Pushing open the door and peering inside Vanya glanced around the room, she looked at the full sized bed with a red comforter on it and far to many pillows to the square boxed TV set that probably got at most four channels, to the little two chaired table that held a microwave and coffee maker with packaged coffee and white foam cups on top of it. 

As far as motels go this one was one of the cleanest they've been to, at least this one didn't have any mysterious blotched stains on the carpet.

“You want to shower first?” Klaus set their things on the bed and dug through them to find them each a set of sweatpants and tank-tops to go to sleep in.

“I'm gonna take a bath so if you want to grab a shower first it's fine with me,” she needed to grab hold of and make moments of normal when she could, and for her that means taking the time to enjoy a relaxing bath. Klaus nodded, grabbed his things and went to the bathroom, the shower started not two minutes later.

She didn't know what to do with herself as she waited so she figured watching some 80's sitcom on one of the few channels on the TV would have to do. Flipping through the few working channels she stopped on a news broadcast that announced an interview segment. A blonde lady with a black dress that fell to her knees with Ursula makeup splattered on her face appeared on the screen, she was being questioned by a reporter, the bottom of the screen stated she was head of the Research Development Team that worked for The Commission.

“What exactly is your goal as an organization? Why do Aberrant Chromed individuals need to be detained by your organization?” The young man asked her, he looked fresh out of college and ready to dive into his career with enthusiasm.

“Our goal is simple, we aim to protect our society and the way to protect it is to obtained the dangers within it, which are Aberrant Chromed individuals. They are dangerous and uncontrollable, without guidance and a firm hand they will run wild and there is nothing standing in their way if they so chose to cause mayhem,” she said it so matter a fact like they are born evil and with a need to control and dominate everything in their paths when in reality they were ordinary people who just wanted to fit in and not be hunted like animals.

“You don't believe our government stands a chance against them?” He questioned her.

“These individuals can do extraordinary things that can and will throw curve balls in any battle or war. Just recently we acquired a young boy who can teleport and a woman who can control anyone she wants. Their abilities are what make them a danger to us and we need to neutralize those abilities.” _More like weaponize and control them for their own selfish desires_ Vanya thought.

“A lot of people are curious as to what happens to them when they get captured by your organization? Are they safe? Are they being treated wrongly? Being experimented on?” The young man was looking more uncomfortable the further their conversation went.

“They go through a series of testing to determine just how strong their abilities are and to be able to determine which level to classify them in. I can assure you they are not treated wrongly, they are given three square meals a day along with proper education and entertainment, and they're allowed to converse among one another. They are not being experimented on, I don't know where that rumor came from but it's false. The Commission is not the enemy, we just want what's best for everyone involved,” Vanya wonders if anyone else watching this is catching the lies that this woman is telling.

“Levels?” He asked, Vanya was curious about that as well.

“We have 3 levels that we section them into based on the potential threat of their abilities. Level 1 is the least threatening and dangerous, someone who can see the future would be classified in this section. Level 2 is the in-between threatening level, the individuals I mentioned just now would be classified as a level 2 threat because they have some form of an active ability. Level 3's are the most dangerous and threatening, they are those who would be near impossible to bring down in a fight, someone with telekinesis or the ability to alter your reality would be classified in this section. Though I will be honest some of the abilities that come to us cross over into each level, it really just depends, it's more of a reference for the organization to know what their dealing with, in the case of an emergency,” her disgustingly sweet smile made Vanya want to gag.

Just as the woman was opening her mouth to say more the TV clicked off, she turned around to face the bed where she had left the remote. Klaus was standing there with the remote in his hand aimed at the TV, he had a light green towel wrapped around his slim hips, and his hair was dripping water to the floor.

“You don't need to be watching that Vanya,” she wanted to voice her disagreement to that but didn't. Her and Klaus were exhausted so there was no use in trying to argue with as little energy as they had, so instead she nodded.

She grabbed her towel and without a word went to the bathroom to take a bath, setting the water to as hot as it would go before stripping her clothing and getting in. The ache she's felt in her shoulders all day was slowly leaving her body the longer she stayed in the bath, she heard the TV click back on in the other room and rolled her eyes, she couldn't watch it but apparently he could.

As she laid there she swirled the water up and created a mini tornado on the surface of the calm water below it. She use to do this in the miniature pool Grace would pull out for them in the summers to entertain Klaus, he loved watching the water swirl and jump on its own, loved watching it make figures that danced. He would beg her every time to make the water come alive, he could do the same to the flames and the air but he always said it was more calming and beautiful when it was her doing it to the water. So Vanya every time would play the water like an instrument so she could see the smile on Klaus's face.

She swished her hand and the mini tornado fell into the water of the tub and was no more.

Later that night as she and Klaus settled onto the lumpy mattress, pressed close together, Klaus's arm intertwined with her waist and dragged her up against his body and tucked his face into her neck, she thought about the levels of threat The Commission assigned to people like them, and couldn't help but wonder what threat level would the organization believe her and Klaus to be.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed ☺
> 
> Fun Fact: If I could have any power in the world I would choose to control the elements 🔥💦🌬🌱, I think it's possibly the coolest power ever lol and it's because of this that the idea for this story came about in my head.


	2. Chapter 2

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy ☺

A few weeks later found them in Salem, Massachusetts, Klaus thought it was hilarious and ironic for them to settle in a city that was famous for hunting down people other people believed to be supernatural and witchy, Vanya was just glad to be settling again, at least for the time being.

They luckily were able to make a smooth transition, they hit the jackpot with a restaurant/bar that hired both of them in need of a bartender and waitress, and were able to move into a 1 bedroom apartment. It didn't have any furniture in it and they were currently sleeping on an air mattress, but they've had worse so as far as they were concerned, it was good.

Vanya, when getting hired, sent a silent “thank you” to Klaus's freaky friends in Chicago, one of the first places they stayed at after Grace had died. Klaus naturally attracted the attention of everyone in viewpoint of him, so it was no surprise when he introduced his friends that had sketchy hobbies to Vanya, having met them at some rave he attended for a couple hours. Those friends were and still are the ones who provided/provide them with their fake documents that make it possible to be hidden for longer from The Commission. In the years that followed Grace's death, Vanya has been a number of other girls and Klaus has been a number of other boys, currently they were Liam and Nina Grey. Unlike Klaus, Vanya didn't like adding backstories to their fake identities, she didn't need to so she saw no point in it, but Klaus got entertained by it so she humored him and played along to whatever crazy backstory his brain came up with.  

She hopes they could stay in Salem for a good chunk of time, she was tired of running but the alternative of stopping wasn't an option. But she didn't think some slice of normal like they had before was to much to ask for.

It was their ninth day of work and they had the evening shift, having requested they work the same shifts, and Vanya was taking orders from hungry customers coming in getting a start on the weekend. It was Friday evening, groups of co-workers, friends, and family were coming through the doors. The restaurant they worked for doubled as a sports bar, it was a strange mixture between the two but Vanya thought it had a nice atmosphere and good vibes to it.

Every ten or so minutes she would let her eyes travel back to Klaus who was working behind the bar and their eyes would meet, the need to check on one another ingrained in their heads and automatic in their actions. Currently Klaus was flirting with a man on the other side of the bar, the size of the guy had Vanya frowning. He was huge, his shoulder span was half of Vanya's entire height, his blonde hair shined bright from the overhead lights above him, he was in the midst of throwing his head back in laughter at whatever Klaus was saying to him, even from so far away Vanya could see the dimples that punctured his cheeks. Klaus's eyes met hers for the millionth time that evening, Vanya relaxed when he wiggled his eyebrows at her with a smile, her twin deserved to flirt his little heart out whenever he wanted and she wasn't going to ruin that simply because the guys size was alarming.

“Hi, my name Nina, I'll be your waitress this evening, are you ready to order?” Vanya looked up from her yellow notepad to the table in front of her, her voice having recited her lines perfectly, fake name and all. Her eyes traveled over the man who sat alone on a two chair table, she let her chocolate orbs roll over him from his feet to his head, her heart gave a jump at the immediate attraction she felt for this stranger. Her eyes finally landed on his deep brown ones and she was embarrassed to see the teasing grin on his face at her less then subtle check out of him.

“You like what you see, I take it,” he joked, the smile on his face growing wider.

“Oh my god, I am so sorry, that was completely unprofessional of me. I'm sorry,” she rushed to apologize to him, god she was like a creeper man in a bar that checked out the dancing girls and made them feel naked with his sleazy gaze on them, “I can get you another waitress if you would like?” She was going to die of embarrassment, Klaus was probably at the bar laughing his ass off, she was no where near as smooth as him.

“Don't worry about it,” he assured her, “I like what I see to,” he winked at her. Poor Klaus was going to be on the run by himself for now on, she was digging her own grave tonight and throwing herself in it.

“I'm Diego,” the man introduced himself, Vanya wondered how red her face must be right now. What was happening? Normally it was Klaus that got people gravitating toward him. As per example the guy at the bar, but not Vanya, the last person to flirt with her was some dude four years ago who actually wanted Klaus and was trying to get through her for him, how on earth that man thought it was a foolproof plan to getting with her brother, she will never know.

“Va-Nina, I'm Nina,” she almost smacked her arm for her near slip up, she wanted to tell him her real name, which surprised her. She just met the man and yes it was nice to be on the receiving end of some attention but that didn't mean she should give all her secrets away to him.

“It's very nice to meet you Nina,” he smiled big at her again before picking up his menu and glancing over it, “I would like the steak with potatoes and broccoli, and a coke to drink, please and thank you.”

She wrote down his order, “I'll be right back with that,” as she walked away from the table she could feel his eyes burning holes into her spine but she refused to look back.

She had kind of hoped he would continue to flirt with her but he just ordered instead, maybe she had read the situation wrong and his compliment was just to lessen her embarrassment over being caught checking him out. On her way to the kitchen to drop off the slip of paper, she checked on Klaus who was helping some other customer some people down from the big guy, seeing that he was fine she continued on her way.

The guy, Diego, was probably there on a date, he was sitting at a two person table after all, maybe his date was running late and to pass the time he was seeing how gullible she was in her obvious attraction to him. She waited outside the kitchen for the cooks to be done with his order, normally she would be getting his drink in the mean time but she didn't want to go to his table any more then necessary especially after her last thought that he was waiting on someone.

Klaus's amusement could be felt through the bond that connected them, she could feel him laughing at her, “Shut up Klaus,” she muttered under her breath, a couple of people gave her the side eye, having heard her but she ignored them.

When his food was done she had one of the waiters, Micah if she remembered his name correctly, follow her to get his coke and then to Diego's table which still only had him seated at it. Vanya wasn't going to question right now why seeing the empty chair across from him had her feeling relieved.

“Enjoy your food,” her and Micah spoke together, she walked off before he could say anything back to them. She went on to the next table that was a group of seven guy friends with one girl thrown into the mix, they were loud and rowdy but she didn't mind because it was able to take her mind off of the stranger that was suddenly consuming her thoughts.

It was at the drink station serving glass after glass of beer for the rowdy table that Klaus came up behind her and hugged her, pressing his lips to her ear “So whose the hotty that gots you all confuzzled?”

Vanya should have known Klaus wasn't going to wait to get home to start hounding his questions at her, he's always been to noisy for his own good.

“No one, just a customer that I humiliated myself in front of,” she grumbled in response. She stacked the glasses of beer on 2 round trays and motioned for Klaus to grab one and follow her over to the table that was now drawing attention from other customers because the guys were screaming at the TV stationed right in front of them, it was playing a football game. 

“He looked like he was pretty into you,” Klaus tried assuring her, they started handing out the glasses to each person at the table, “In fact he hasn't taken his eyes off of you, he's still staring,” it took everything in Vanya not to look at Diego's table to see if what Klaus said is true or if he's just trying to make her feel better.

“Hey guys, can you please keep the noise down, we have other customers here and not all of them are as enthusiastic about the sports,” Vanya said to the table, their screams to the TV were now attracting to much attention to be comfortable, judging by the red haze each of them, but the girl, have in their eyes that she hadn't noticed the first time around, they have already had a few to many to drink. The table ignored her and if anything seemed to get louder somehow.

“Excuse me, can you guys please keep the noise down,” she told them more firmly, her and Klaus haven't been working here two weeks yet and already she has to deal with customers like this. They still ignored her, they acted like they couldn't even see her, the only one that seemed to give her any attention at all was the girl, who threw her a fake apologetic look.

“Hey assholes! Keep it down!” Another customer had called over to them from their own table, it was a man that was there with what looked like his wife and parents.

“I'm gonna go get the manager, you make sure no one starts any fights,” she ordered to Klaus, who had nodded his head with an eye roll, she felt that eye roll in her soul. This wasn't the first time her and Klaus worked in a restaurant/bar setting, sometimes places like this attracted the worst people.

By the time she made it back with the manager, Klaus was in the middle of the customer that had yelled at the table and two guys from the rowdy table, hands held out trying to defuse a situation that had escalated beyond it's worth. The manager ran over with panic on her face, the poor woman wasn't expecting this and Vanya felt bad for her.

Vanya trailed after her, intent on getting her twin out from between the mess that was about to happen, but before she could reach him one of the drunk guys raised his fist and slammed it into Klaus's cheek, Vanya's own cheek stung from the hit.

“Fuck!” Klaus spat out, he was holding his cheek with one hand, the other positioned out close to the guys chest. Vanya's left palm started tingling with cold air, a tell tale sign that Klaus was generating the air around his own palm. 

An arm grabbed her and pulled her back from getting closer, she struggled against it without looking to see who had grabbed her.

“Nina!” Her ears throbbed from the shout, Diego positioned himself in front of her still holding her arm, “You can't get in the middle of that,” his voice rang with concern, Vanya's tingled palm was wrapped in his and she wanted to yank it away, not because his hand felt unpleasant in hers but because she was scared he would be able to feel something. Her eyes were focused on her brother and she was relieved when she saw him take a step back from the drunk guys. The manager said something to them that had them scrambling back to the table and out the door, along with the other people they came in with. 

She lightly tugged her arm and hand away from Diego's grip and speed walked to Klaus who was asking the other customer if they were okay, like he was the one that got hit in the face with a fist.

“Klaus!” She rushed up to him and checked over his face first, a light bruise was starting on his cheek and spreading, she focused her attention to his hands next, hers were no longer tingling but his were trembling from unused power that was generated and not released, they needed to leave soon otherwise they were going to make a bigger scene.

“I'm okay,” he whispered to her, just as he said that the big guy he was flirting with earlier came over from his place at the bar and asked if he was okay.

“Yeah I'm good, thank you Luther,” Klaus said back, Vanya was a little upset that he didn't intervene when it could have been helpful, with his size alone those men would have went running in the other direction.

“I'm sorry I didn't come help you, I didn't even know what was going on, the crowd kind of made it hard to see what the commotion was,” Luther apologized, regret in his voice for not stepping up to help someone in need, especially someone whom he was joking and flirting with not 10 minutes ago.

“Klaus?” Their managers voice rang out with a questioning tone. Vanya hadn't meant to say his real name on purpose, it was a natural reaction to being panicked.

“It's my middle name boss,” Klaus smoothly jumped in with an explanation, no concern or worry on his face or in his voice. He always told her people believed what they saw, the more confident and calm you were in response to them the likelier the were to believe whatever you said to them. Vanya hasn't quite mastered that herself, she's never been good at deception or lying, it's a miracle she hasn't gotten them caught by The Commission yet.

“How about you two get something to eat and take the rest of the night off,” she told them after she considered what Klaus had said, she walked away from them and toward the customer that had yelled at all the drunks when they nodded in unison.

“Are you sure your good man? That guy knocked you pretty hard,” Vanya was startled out of her obsessive checking to make sure her brother was okay by Diego's voice. She had thought he went back to his seat when she tugged herself away from him, to anxious to check if Klaus was alright.

“Everyone needs to stop fussing, I'm fine,” Klaus let his eyes roam over the stranger and then turned the teasing orbs to Vanya, “And you are?” He asked Diego, a question Vanya felt was unnecessary, he was obviously the customer she embarrassed herself in front of. 

“Diego, nice to meet you,” he shook hands with Klaus.

“Likewise, I'm Liam, I would introduce my sister but you've seemed to have already met her,” Vanya wanted to hit the smile off his face.

“Yeah,” Vanya's face was heating up with the attention now focused on her, “Can I walk you guys outside? Make sure you get to your car alright,” Diego's hand reached up to rub the back of his neck in a sheepish manner.

“I was just about to ask the same thing,” the big guy, Luther, spoke up from his spot across from them, Vanya had forgotten he was even there, her attention split between embarrassment and worry, she guessed he wanted to make up for not helping Klaus out even though it wasn't his fault nor his responsibility to. Vanya does think it would have scared those stupid customers to have someone this guys size stepping up to them but he was under no obligation to just because he flirted with Klaus, Vanya herself felt a little guilty for her early thought of being upset with him.  

“You gentlemen are more then welcome to walk us ladies out to the car, lord knows we're dainty and we could use some big strong men, in more ways then one if you catch my drift,” Klaus clicked his tongue at them and winked, Vanya giggled when a blush spread through their faces at her brother's insinuation.

“I think the whole state caught your drift Klaus, your not subtle,” Vanya mumbled to him, he laughed in return without care.

After getting food from the kitchen, because who were they to turn down free food, Luther and Diego walked with the twins to their crappy car, it was a silent walk. When they finally reached the car, they stood at the trunk, all of them looked at each other awkwardly, not entirely sure what to say or do.

“Can I have your number?” Diego blurted out to Vanya when the silence was becoming overbearing, before she could answer though Klaus opened his mouth and spoke for her.

“We just moved here actually, so no number unfortunately,” it wasn't the full truth but it wasn't a lie either, her and Klaus don't have phones, there was no need for them when they were around each other constantly, plus they didn't want to risk The Commission tracking them through the phones.

“You can definitely take her out to dinner though, come back here to the restaurant tomorrow and you guys can schedule something,” Klaus set up a date for her in front of her, she didn't know whether to thank him or smack him.

“Yeah? Is that okay with you Nina?” Diego nervously asked her.

“Yeah of course, I'll see you tomorrow,” Vanya was giddy inside, her heart jumped when he threw a big grin at her. He said his goodbyes before walking over to a car across the lot. Vanya thought Klaus was going to say something similar to the big guy but he just thanked him for walking them and told him not to feel guilty about not interfering with the commotion in the restaurant and gave him a handshake which the big guy seemed content with. He dragged her to the passenger side of the car and opened the door for her to get in, him getting in on the driver side.

“Why did you do that?” They were pulling out of the parking lot when she questioned him. She was excited that she had a date, the feeling of that happiness swelled in her chest, threatening to break free, but when she thought about it.....what was the point in becoming attached to someone when she would eventually have to leave?

“You like him Vanya, a lot. There's no harm in going on a date with him, get out of the house for a little bit and be normal for a while,” Klaus just wanted her to be happy, he couldn't give her everything she wanted but he could try to give her as much normal as possible, which included going on fun dates with someone she was attracted to. A few dates didn't mean love, marriage, and kids. 

“You didn't want a date with the big guy?” She asked, if she was going to get a slice of normal, he should to.

“Luther? God no! He was fun to flirt with but he's not my type,” Klaus scoffed, his twin she should know this already. Luther was a good looking guy but Klaus just didn't feel anything when he was flirting with him, it was fun but that's as far as it goes.

“You should go out and be normal for a while to,” Vanya scanned the trees they were passing on the road, wind currents were making them swish dangerously back and forth, they looked a second away from being ripped from their roots “Klaus?”

“Sorry, I'm not doing it on purpose,” he clenched his fists on the wheel and the trees stopped moving. Vanya thought it was interesting how the energy of Klaus using his powers was settled in her and vice versa but she herself couldn't control his part of the elements and he couldn't control hers.

She could feel them, the abilities were as real as her own but they were phantom powers, she felt them but she couldn't use them or control them. Her and Klaus hadn't had much practice with their powers. Grace had tried getting them to practice on the fields but when Klaus produced wind currents that picked up into an unexpected tornado, and caused fire to spark blazing flames that licked their toes and when Vanya made the earth shake beneath their feet and crack the brown fields open, and caused toys to drown in the whirlpool she produced in the pool that she had dragged out in anticipation of the experimentation of their abilities, Grace panicked and told them that suppressing was better then practicing. Since then they hadn't done much but party tricks for each other, not once questioning their aunt Grace's advice to suppress what made them special. 

“Just don't go knocking trees over and were good,” the trees started a smoother swishing back and forth, so unlike the violent shake they had before. Maybe they should be getting more practice time in with their abilities, at the very least to know the fullest extent of their powers and to have better control over them. Sometimes incidents like this one made it apparent that they had little control over their abilities, thankfully nothing dangerous has resulted from that but Vanya isn't confident that will always be the case.  

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed 🙂
> 
> P.S Grace didn't mean for Vanya and Klaus to suppress their powers because she thinks there wrong or unnatural, she told them because she recognized the danger in them. And in any case she knows that the more they display their abilities the more attention they attract which was the opposite of her goal for them.....I didn't want anyone getting the wrong impression so you guys got an explanation lol 😁


	3. Chapter 3

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy 😁

Reginald was waiting in a park that was deserted of any people. The seat of the bench beneath him was digging into his bottom and making his legs twitch with pain from sitting for a long period of time. Physically he was getting to old for this shit, but the thrill of catching a target was what kept him young spiritually, so to give that up any time soon was not on his list of things to do. He's been in the park for a few hours now, patiently waiting for his men to come with information. Unfortunately for him they had no company head quarters located here in Salem, so they were stuck making do with what they had, which was rented rooms in a hotel.

He had no desire for this information to possibly be heard in the hotel, hence the reason for his being in an empty park. He knew the job wasn't fast and easy, in hindsight he could have waited a while longer to come here but the targets they were after have been his only mistake in his long career, they were the ones that got away, he was eager for this to be what he's waited so long for. He's been so close to catching them so many times, only to have them slip through his fingers like dust, he would have had them that first time so many years ago had it not been for that blonde bimbo who helped them escape, he made sure she paid for it with her life though. He would have had them a few weeks ago to but his men who were new to this particular case underestimated their senses of danger, the targets were like bloodhounds, they could smell The Commission a mile off, it will be nothing short of a miracle if this plan actually works. 

“Hargreeves,” in his distraction, he failed to hear the vehicles pull in and hear his men walking towards him. All of them dressed in civilian clothing, looking like any other man or woman on the street, he hoped they behaved as they looked when confronted with the targets. They walked until they stood in front of him, and then paused to wait for a response.

“Report,” he ordered from his two best men, they stood in front of the rest, dominance rolling off them in waves. He hand picked them and trained them himself, they followed orders blindly, the perfect soldiers. They had Aberrant Chromosomes like the people they hunted, level 2's that Reginald used for his own profit.

The Commission had acquired them when they were just little boys playing with trucks, running around without a care in the world. Their naivety and innocence made it possible for him to mold them into his puppets that did what he said, when he said to do it.

Luther's ability of super strength and Diego's of agility and knowledge and accuracy of any weapon in his possession, made them top ranking Soldiers that benefited The Commission as well.

Their usefulness and committing nature had them stationed at the main headquarters of The Commission located in New York, testing, training, and supervising the targets they obtained. Reginald had brought them on to this case a few months before and hasn't regretted it. In the last weeks they've been able to expertly track the targets, and today they've made contact with them, with any luck his men will report that they know where they live and they can stop this game of cat and mouse.

“The scene we started didn't cause either of them to use their abilities sir,” he nodded his head in understanding, he knows the targets don't have complete control of their powers but they weren't reckless either. He had hoped they would use them though, it was easier to fortify The Commission's purpose and rationalize it when the targets made public displays of themselves losing control and hurting civilians. Often times like now The Commission was responsible in causing scenes that overwhelmed the targets to get them to lose control, no one but themselves was privy to that information though.

“Any new information on them?” He was so close to them and he wanted to just take without thought but he sent his soldiers in with hopes of getting new information on them before they took them. With their knack for changing states and identities, Reginald doesn't know much about them. He knows they have abilities that deal in nature, what exactly he wasn't sure, he knows their siblings, and he knows that the woman he killed was a sort of mother to them, but beyond that irrelevant information there isn't anything else he knows about them. He wouldn't admit it out loud because his obsession with them has already been noted and pointed out with concern, but he was desperate to know anything and everything about them, he was yearning to tear them apart piece by piece, craving to have them be his puppets on strings that he could pull.

“The male target likes men and women, and has no aversion to flirting with random people,” Luther told him, he had not planned on going to the bar with intentions of flirting with the male target but he was dragged into it much to his surprise. He has to admit though, it wasn't the worse situation, he didn't like men but the target had a way with words and had him laughing in minutes.

Reginald didn't know if that could be of use in the future or not, the free spirit of sexuality, but he would keep it filed away just in case.

“They don't own phones, their protective of each other, and the female target is shy. Her brother scheduled a meeting for us tomorrow to plan a date when he noticed her attraction to me,” Diego listed off, Reginald figured they had no phones, he never found records for some anyways, he also suspected they were protective of each other, they would be considering their siblings, for Diego to make a point to say it though must mean their protective nature for each other must run deeper then he previously thought.

The shyness of the female didn't shock him, she looked like a wall flower that didn't want attention on her and that faded into the background desperate to not be noticed. But like her brother's sexuality, maybe her attraction for his Soldier could be used against her in the future when he had them right where he wanted them, in a cell, locked away.

“Do we know where they live?” He asked them, this was the information they needed. He wouldn't pull the same mistake he did the first time and attack during day light hours, if they had an address he wondered if it would be best to go now or wait until tomorrow night, he was hesitant to wait though, the longer they waited the more likely it was for the targets to sniff them out and take off.

“Yes sir, we followed them after they left,” Luther answered, he thought they would see him and Diego in the car behind them but they didn't, in fact they didn't seem to have noticed anything in their surroundings, possibly to strung up from the incident in the restaurant.

“Go get in your gear, and get the sedatives and bracelets ready, we go for them tonight,” he watched as all his men but Luther and Diego scrambled to do as he said. They regarded him for a minute in silent observation before nodding and walking off. His fingers inched with how close he was to his targets, he would have them tonight, he was to anxious to wait any longer, he could hardly be faulted in his impatience, not when he could practically taste his victory on his tongue.

* * *

Vanya was trembling, her body didn't want to listen to her head when it said to stop, it didn't listen to her rationalize that there was no reason to be scared. She could protect herself, and in any case that she couldn't, Klaus would never let anything happen to her. That was hard to do and comprehend though with the sight in front of her, she couldn't help flinching back when she felt Klaus's fear against her own, all hope was lost if Klaus was scared as well.

The loud screams from the horror movie they put on had Vanya throwing the blankets up and over her head from the air mattress her and Klaus were on, she scrambled over the little bit of space between them and pressed herself against Klaus. She thinks it would be more comforting for her if Klaus didn't yank the blankets up again and hide under them right along with her.

“Oh fuck no! Whose idea was it for us to watch this again!” He peeked his head out of the blanket, only to shriek and hide back underneath it. After they had came home, Klaus got a wild hair up his butt to go to a pawn shop and buy a cheap TV and a DVD set with a few movies to keep them entertained for the night, Vanya thought it was a good idea, the quiet of the apartment was becoming to much for her, she needed something to at least be playing in the background so the ringing of bells when it got to silent would go away.

“It was your idea idiot!” Vanya yelled at him, she couldn't believe she let him talk her into watching a horror film, one that was advertised as a true story nonetheless, “Paranormal Activity” was playing on the screen and she wanted nothing more then to turn it off, but that would require getting out from under the protection of the blankets and she wasn't that brave. Vanya doesn't even know why she agreed to watch it, she hated scary movies, the feeling of her stomach clamping up and coming up her throat was an unpleasant sensation, the jumps and trembling didn't help either. Plus she was like a little kid, she got nightmares any time she watched horror movies, and they lasted for weeks after she views the movie.

But Klaus wanted to watch it, he picked it up in the bargain bin at the pawn shop, the little red sticker in the corner claimed it was “on sale” for $1.99. She didn't want to watch the movie but she wasn't going to tell him so when he seemed so excited to watch it, the attendant couldn't believe they hadn't watched it yet but Vanya and Klaus didn't comment back to his observations. She hopes Klaus was kicking himself in the ass now for picking it, judging by his fear that somehow seemed stronger then her own, he was.

It wasn't even that the movie was particularly scary in the sense that it had gory and graphic details, Vanya and Klaus would be able to handle that, but what they couldn't handle and what this movie seemed to be filled with was jump scares. The suspense and the anticipation of what is going to happen next is what got to them, they couldn't handle the creaking of the doors, the moving of furniture, or the glimpses of shadows.

“Well it was a horrible idea, go turn it off!” Klaus wanted the full experience of a scary movie so he turned off all the lights, so Vanya couldn't see his face clearly, really all she could see was his silhouette highlighted by the glow coming through the blankets from the TV.

“Okay.... but if I die I'm coming back to haunt your ass,” she warned him, she was going to fully make do on that threat if she died a horrible death by a vengeful spirit because he didn't have the sense to leave on at least one light.

Taking the deepest breath imaginable, she counted to three in her head, when she hit the third number she jumped from the blankets and ran the small distance to the light switch that was by the room door, before running back to the TV that was located near where Klaus's lump of body was seen on the mattress. She pressed her finger multiple times on the open/close button, finally the DVD clicked and slid out, the TV going a light blue waiting for the next movie to be inserted in.

“Is it off?” Klaus's muffled voice came from the lump, she giggled to herself, god they were ridiculous and chicken shits who couldn't handle a scary movie.

“Yeah ya chicken noodle, it's safe to come out now,” she watched as he peeked his head out and looked around like he expected something to come springing forth before he pushed himself up and to his feet to stretch.

“Never let me make a stupid ass decision like that again,” he told her as he leaned down to pick up the foam plates that carried their food they got from the restaurant. Vanya followed him out of the room and to the incredibly empty living-room, they seriously needed to invest in a couch at the very least, the bare space made Vanya feel to vulnerable and out in the open.

“I make no promises, our lives are interesting because of your stupid ass decisions,” she couldn't stop the giggles that erupted from her throat, it was true though, Klaus kept her going in their fucked up world.

“No more scary movies though, we're chicken shits who can't handle that,” he voiced out loud what she had silently been thinking moments before, sometimes the invisible link between them really freaked her out. She felt like she wasn't alone in her own head most times, she knew Klaus couldn't read her mind and she obviously couldn't read his but this wasn't the first time that they've picked up on each other's thoughts in this sense.

“You more then me,” she teased him, she deserved a medal of validation for being the one to risk her life when she heroically jumped from the bed and turned off the TV and turned on the lights.

“You rescued me tonight Vanya, your my knight in shining armor. I shall give you my favor the next time you go to battle for us,” he dramatically flared the loose skirt he put on for bed and bent down in a mock bow to her.

“Shut up,” She pushed him out of his bow, “We should go to bed, it's late and we got work tomorrow.”

“You mean you have a date to plan tomorrow,” he ducked and ran to their shared room when her arm came up to smack him. Her arm went through empty space where Klaus had previously been, she let out a frustrated growl, she wouldn't admit it out loud (it's not like she really needed to anyways) but Klaus was not wrong. She was looking forward to work tomorrow because a certain gorgeous brown eyed man was coming to plan a date with her. She wanted to look her best which meant not having bags under her eyes that made it look like she hasn't slept in 50 years.

“I'm not saying your right...but thank you for you know telling him to come back tomorrow,” she wouldn't have had that confidence to pursue anything had Klaus not intervened in their conversation by the car. She knows it's not exactly everything she wants and she knows that it's just a date but it was something that she was looking forward to, it was also a chance to test the waters to see if she and Klaus could extend beyond themselves.

Klaus didn't say anything to her, just wrapped her up in his arms and gave her a tight hug that squeezed the breath out of her lungs. He hopes she's not getting to ahead of herself with all of this, he doesn't want her to be disappointed in the end if it doesn't work out the way she wants it to, or the way she imagines it to in her head. But for right now he was happy to hug his twin and let her know silently that he would give her the world on a gold platter if he could.

* * *

Diego watched the shadowed figures in the window of the second story apartment building from his place in the black SUV. They had a thin almost clear sheet up to cover the window but it didn't do such a good job, the light from inside the room illuminated it and shadowed the figures within the room.

He was seated in the driver side of the truck with Luther occupying the passenger seat, other men dressed in their similar black leather uniforms that was provided by The Commission were in the hallowed out back area of the SUV, waiting for him or Luther to give them orders.

They were waiting for the light in the room to go off, after that they would give the targets an appropriate amount of time to go to sleep before moving in. It was easier to give unmoving and unsuspecting figures sedatives and strap bracelets to their wrists, in any case it's a lot less bruising for Diego when they don't put up much of a fight. 

Glancing around the parking lot he spotted the other two SUV's hidden between the various cars. Their vehicle housed the unit that would go into the apartment and make first contact with the targets. The second SUV housed backup that would stay near exits and take care of curious neighbors if there were any. The third SUV was the unit that would move in after they were done to take care of loose ends and enforce the need of The Commission to the public by staging an incident and a story.

It would have been simpler for them if their earlier plan had worked to get one or both of the targets to lose control of their abilities in public. Diego supposed though that sometimes things don't always work out as planned, he has a bit of first hand experience in that.

It was planned to follow the targets where ever they settled next, they were quite literally on their tail when they chose this historical city. It was planned to wait for them to get employment, that being a sign they planned to stay for more then just a couple of days. It was planned to have Luther and himself make first contact with the targets in the restaurant, Luther taking the male and himself taking the female. It was planned that the other soldiers would look like normal people just going out for a fun evening as friends and family together. It was planned to cause a scene and to lay hands on one or both of the targets to get them to react. It was planned for Diego to flirt with the female target in hopes of getting any information to slip past her lips. It was all part of an elaborate plan by an obsessed old man who couldn't let go of targets he considered to be his. 

In the window the light shut off and a shift of anticipation waved in the air at being a step closer to obtaining the high valued targets. 

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed 🙂
> 
> Diego works for The Commission *Gasp 😱😱😱* lol.


	4. Chapter 4

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy 😊

_They killed her. They killed her. It was their fault aunt Grace was dead. The men who had invaded their home weren't there for her, they were there for the twins, and they selfishly let them kill her so they could get away. Vanya didn't care that aunt Grace begged them to leave, they should have ignored her and stayed, and maybe then she would still be alive. If maybe they fought, Vanya could stop shaking and hearing echos of guns being overused._

_It was a normal day, all of them had woken up that morning and cooked breakfast together, playfully arguing about the previous night's game of Monopoly. Vanya was no fool, she knew Klaus, who was their banker, was sneaking money for himself, but he denied it up and down._

_Vanya use to think that when something bad is about to happen, some type of unquestionable force tries to warn you, but when she thought back on it there was nothing that told them their lives were going to change, no unearthly signs, no weird feelings, no missed communications, nothing. One minute they were stuffing their faces with pancakes and fruit telling Klaus he could never be their banker again and the next minute they were struggling with men that carried scary looking weapons. They hadn't heard them pull their cars in, hadn't heard them close their doors, hadn't heard them walk up to the cabin or even come into the cabin, their blissful safe haven was rudely and disrespectfully attacked. Their aunt Grace thought they were safe, thought they had nothing to worry about in the middle of nowhere, she was wrong._

_Vanya's hand bones cracked under the pressure of Klaus's hold, their aunt Grace was able to get them outside of the cabin but in order to leave the property Vanya created sink holes under the large vehicles The Commission came in. She was alarmed with her own use of power, she had meant to only make holes large enough for tires to get stuck in, not for multiple vehicles to fall through. Klaus had taken care of the few men that had not been distracted by their aunt by pulling them into wind currents they didn't have any chance of getting out of. He didn't look as alarmed to use his ability as Vanya did, she was slightly envious of that._

_The crappy car that their aunt Grace used to go into the local town for supplies was being pushed to it's limits in their panicked rush to leave. Vanya prayed that the old vehicle didn't give up on them when they needed it most._

“ _Vanya!” Klaus shouted from his seat, his grip on her hand became to painful and she started to pull away from him, but he only tightened his hold._

“ _Vanya!” He shouted again, his eyes were focused forward on the road, his face was calm, his mouth was unmoving._

“ _Vanya, wake up!” She looked at him in confusion, she was awake. She tried tugging her hand away again but it did nothing so she hit his hand with her free one, he didn't seem to notice though, she started hitting him more violently anywhere she could reach. She wasn't sure why he wasn't letting go and why he was hurting her. Vanya watched as Klaus slowly turned his focus to her, his head turned and faced her direction, his eyes seemed to have no emotion, almost as if they were hollowed out, no sign of life anywhere in them._

“ _Wake up!” Klaus abruptly let go of the wheel and grabbed her shoulders with both of his hands and pushed her against the passenger door, the car swerved into the other lane, another car was headed straight for them but Klaus seemed unconcerned with Vanya's struggles and screams, the car got nearer and she closed her eyes and prepared herself for the impact._

“Vanya!” Her eyes snapped open to Klaus's coarse scream. The room was black, the TV that had been left on for a light source was now off and the lamp outside that usually projected some light through their thin sheet they had up as a makeshift curtain was off to. Her eyes struggled to make sense of the shadows around her, she blinked away the tears that threatened to fall and tried to control her ragged breathing. It took her brain very little time to realize Klaus was screaming her name not three seconds ago and now the room was silent with shadows that she was sure were moving.

“Klaus?” Vanya whispered out, she was scared to move, scared to push the blanket back and jump toward the blackness that was swallowing the room whole. Something was wrong. She tried reaching out to Klaus through their link but it was mucky, there but hard to detect and hard to understand. She could feel him but it was faint and far away, and the feeling was calm like he was sleeping, the buzz that she normally felt of his ability not there at all.

“He's sleeping baby doll, but it's okay we'll take real good care of him,” Vanya's body shook with a sob that she couldn't hold in, the shadow closest to her head answered her whisper. Without thinking she swung her arm out of the blankets and hit the shadow wherever she could, when she heard a yelp of pain, she tossed the blankets off herself and jumped out of the bed, wanting to ground her body to the floor before trying to shake the outside ground which would hopefully shake the room and disorient the people that were in it so she could run.

It took longer then she was willing to admit to realize that the room wasn't moving, nothing was moving. She felt the man she just hit press himself against her back, Vanya could feel how much bigger he was then her, could feel his vibrations of silent laughter as he let her process that she couldn't access her abilities.

“Having performance issues sweetheart?” His breath tickled her ear, her body and her heart were frozen, she couldn't move. Vanya had never felt this powerless and vulnerable before, though her and Klaus didn't use their abilities much they were always there as a reassurance for them, and now without them she felt lonely and empty.

The man behind her sounded familiar but she couldn't place his voice, it pained her to admit it but it was nice, husky with disuse and rough. She recoiled when she felt his hand land on her shoulder to caress it, slowly trailing it down her left arm until it gripped her wrist. It was then that Vanya paid attention to the weight on her wrist, she couldn't see it but there was a bracelet there that the man was running his fingers over, teasing her skin on the edges of it.

Vanya and Klaus have heard rumors that The Commission created devices that allowed them to suppress an Aberrant Chromed person's powers, but they didn't believe those rumors. Nothing was confirmed so they let those warnings go in one ear and out the other without giving them much thought. They foolishly let themselves believe that they were safe, that they were ahead of the game, that they had the upper hand. Vanya wanted to scream, to cry, to throw things but her body wouldn't listen to her commands, she was just a statue, crippled by fear and worry for her brother.

“I think it's time you joined your brother in dreamland, sweetheart,” when those words registered, Vanya felt a new energy run through her but before she could move she felt a sharp pinch to her neck and the man behind her pulled her body toward his chest, wrapping his arms around her and holding her upright. She tried to move but found that she couldn't, her mind was fogging up, the last thing that pierced the darkness was the man turning her around, slipping one of his arms under her thighs and the other arm around her back and picking her up bridal style before everything went black.

* * *

The first thing Vanya felt when the fog in her brain started clearing up and the world started coming alive again was the pain that radiated down her arms which were pulled up, fastened to the ceiling. Her emotions told her to move, to struggle, to shout, to open her eyes and look around for Klaus. Her head told her she was just kidnapped and brought to an unknown location, she didn't know where Klaus was or if he was okay, and she also didn't know how long she's been asleep for, so bringing attention to herself was the last thing she should do.

She kept her eyes closed and her body limp, it was difficult not to move to try and get the numb feeling out of her arms so instead of focusing on that she turned her attention to her link with Klaus. She tried to feel for him, tried to reach out to feel that familiar presence in her mind and the buzzing of his ability under hers, but the realization that she couldn't even feel her own ability hit her full force and without thought she started struggling and panicking, blinking her eyes open. Before the man sedated her in the apartment she had still felt Klaus, very faintly but he was still there, now there was nothing, not from him and not from her.

She had expected to encounter a mostly dark room with minimal dark furniture and creepy lighting that blinked in and out of focus. Every criminal TV show she's ever watched prepared her for a dirty and shadowed dungeon with stained furniture and thick air that was hard to breathe around. What she woke up to was a brightly lit metal cell that was empty, the only thing in the room was herself and the rope that connected her to the ceiling. It was sterile and cold, goose bumps made their way from the tips of her fingers to the tips of her toes. Looking down at her body she also noted that someone had changed her and that thought racked her body with a well earned cringe. She had fallen asleep in her comfortable unicorn pajamas that were soft and fuzzy, ones Klaus got her for Christmas the previous year when she went through a belated unicorn phase. Now she was dressed in a tight black tank top with no bra and tiny black shorts that barley covered her ass cheeks, she felt unexpected breezes of air that seemed to be focused on all the wrong body parts.

Peering up Vanya could see the intricate connection of ropes that held her up, her arms needed relief from being held up, her wrists were bleeding from the friction that she unknowingly must have caused well she was knocked out. Some of the blood was dry and sticking to the rope, some blood was still slowly trailing down her arms, around her left wrist was the metal bracelet that the guy who kidnapped her caressed when she tried using her powers. A bracelet she should have been prepared for based on rumors but wasn't, they must have put a similar bracelet on Klaus as she was waking up and that explained why she couldn't feel his powers or hers, or feel their connection.

It's always been a question for her if their unusual connection stemmed from their Chromes and now she has her answer. She not sure how to feel about that, she had always hoped in the back of her mind that her and Klaus would still have that regardless of their abilities or not, it's upsetting to make that realization that they wouldn't have the connection without their Chromes. She wonders if that means their not as close as they have always thought they were, if their Chromes are what pushed them to feel what they feel but she dismisses the thought just as soon as it makes way in her mind, because it's Klaus she's thinking about that way. He's her twin brother and regardless she loves him and would do anything for him and they just had an extra advantage as siblings and as twins with the Chromes but that didn't define them and what they meant to each other.

Vanya's not sure how long she hangs there before someone decides to grace her with their presence. She tried everything she could think of to escape the rope but no matter which way she twisted or pulled, the rope stayed firmly intact. The only thing she managed to accomplish was more bleeding and soreness in her already painful arms, the pain now extended down to her shoulders and sides, and down her legs.

In the middle of another attempt to twist herself out of the ropes, a swish of air was heard in the painfully silent room, she stopped all motion, the sound came from behind her. Turning her head, she could make out a metal door that slid open, the lines of the door were hidden when it closed behind the two people who entered the room, one pushing a cart that held various first aid equipment on it. Vanya didn't like that the door blended into the walls, she needed to get out of here and wasting time on trying to find the door among the walls when she did figure out a way to escape the tricky ropes was going to hinder her progress.

It was two women who entered the cell that Vanya found herself trapped in, the one pushing the cart was a short, skinny Asian girl, she had light blue scrubs on and a name tag that read “Helen”, she had a frown on her thin face, she said nothing as she started pulling gauzes out and soaking them with alcohol to dab at the blood that still ran down Vanya's arms. Her touch was cold and artificial, Vanya didn't want this strange girl touching her so she moved as far back as she could, but the girl followed her movements with ease.

“You caused quite the damage to your wrists in your attempts to remove yourself from the ropes,” the second woman spoke from her spot behind the girl still following her avoiding tactics. Vanya violently flinched away from the stinging pain that the alcohol caused when it made direct contact with her open cuts. Trying to center her attention to the woman not armed with gauze, Vanya was startled to see she recognized who she was. It was the woman on the TV screen, the one that worked for The Commission, she still had on the hideous flared black dress and over abundance of purple Ursula makeup on, she looked like she walked right off the set of that interview that Vanya found herself watching some weeks ago. The smirk on her red painted lips was the same one she gave the reporter that interviewed her, it was a smirk that spoke of pure malicious intent. Vanya didn't answer her.

“Your brother hasn't fared much better, your quieter then he is though, we've had to sedate him again since he woke up,” wannabe Ursula practically teased her. Vanya knew she was looking for a reaction, for her to rise to the bait but she refused to.

“He kept yelling for you, then crying and begging for someone to answer him,” she moved around Vanya's body, assessing her and running her beady blue eyes over every inch of flesh that was exposed, it made Vanya want to gag when a glint sparked her eyes.

“I can see why our Soldier couldn't keep his eyes to himself,” she taunted with that horrible smirk.

Vanya wanted to ask what she was talking about, what Solider, where Klaus was, why she was here, but she didn't do any of that, she felt like this woman enjoyed playing mind games that her captives had no hope of winning and she wanted no part in it, so the best way to avoid it was to stay quiet.

“The strong silent type huh?” She stepped closer to Vanya's body, there was now only an inch of space between them, the girl stepped back and packed up the things she used before addressing the woman that Vanya wanted to spit on out of spite.

“The cuts were superficial, no stitches needed, I applied antibiotic ointment to avoid infection, she's exhausted and mostly likely cramping from that position but like I said before, she's healthy,” she droned out the words like she was talking about a pet rock, like Vanya wasn't a living human being tethered to the ceiling like a piece of meat. Vanya's eyes flickered between Ursula and Helen, the former still not having moved away from Vanya's personal space. She could feel her body heat and it caused an uncomfortable sensation because another body was in to close proximity to hers. She doesn't allow people this close to her, ever, the only person whose been this close is Klaus and his body doesn't make hers want to jerk away and wash herself head to toe.

“Thank you Helen, you may leave,” Ursula dismissed the girl, who without second thought fled the room faster then Vanya was comfortable with. She had hoped that the girl would hesitate or question the order.

“You won't be staying in this room forever, it's just the room we first put subjects in for them to get the initial fight out of their systems before we transport them to a more permanent room,” Vanya half listened to the explanation, half her mind was on the little inch of space between them, she tried angling her body further away but like Helen, Ursula followed her movements without trouble. 

“Your going be here a very long time little mouse so I suggest you get all that fight out now in this room, because out there it's not going be pretty if it comes out to play,” Vanya let out a small breath of relief when the woman finally stepped out of her space once she was sure her threat shook Vanya's core. Vanya barley had time to blink before the woman was reaching into her pocket, producing a thick needle filled with clear liquid that she stabbed into Vanya's neck. The fast actions had her shaking, but her erratic movements slowed down until they stopped and the last thing that she processed was Ursula moving back into her personal space, placing a hand on her cheek and lightly running her fingers over Vanya's pale skin.

“Our Soldier really does have good eyes and good taste,” she whispered close to Vanya's ear before everything faded into darkness again.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed 😁
> 
> P.S. The Handler is creepy AF lol 😂 both in this fanfiction and in the show.


	5. Chapter 5

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoy 😁

For the second time in god knows how many hours Vanya is waking up to a cold metal cell, her body hanging limply from the ceiling. She doesn't know how much time has passed since she and Klaus were taken from their apartment. It feels like it's only been a hand full of hours since she got the first needle injected into her neck but that couldn't be right, it's hard for her to track back the time. She doesn't know how long she slept for the first time, where they transported them to, how long it took to transport them, she also doesn't know how long she was asleep for the second time either.

It worries her, the inability to measure the time she's been locked away. She figures she should have asked this to her cosplaying Ursula kidnapper but she was so determined not to speak to her that she didn't bother asking relevant questions that could help Vanya feel like she has a chance getting out of this sticky situation.

She tries her best to inspect the cuts on her wrists from the rope, hoping it'll give her something to go off of. Her head feels light and filled with air, it's hard to hold it back and the glare coming from the white lights lined above her sting her eyes. The rope isn't brown anymore, more of dirty maroon color, from what she could see underneath it her wrists are dark purple and there's red splotches that trail down. The cuts are somewhat healed, well they're no longer bleeding which she counts as a plus, it's hard to look at so Vanya turns her head down. Her body is numb now, the pain that was there before she was drugged again is faint, certain parts of her body still sting but for the most part she's gone numb, that's more concerning in Vanya's mind then the pain that was there.

What's worse though is that she needs to pee, very badly, had needed to pee since waking up the first time but she ignored it in favor of trying to appear strong but now it's impossible to ignore. She's contemplating just going on the floor and being done with it, unlike her captors seem to think she is a human being who gets bodily urges like any other normal human being so it would serve them right having to clean that up if she does go. But the fact that she would be stepping in her own urine and the fact that it wouldn't just stain the floor but her shorts and legs as well stops Vanya from making that choice. She'd rather not have to smell like urine and feel warm then cold shorts pressed to her skin as the wetness dries.

A bladder of steel is what she has because it's not for a while before someone finally comes through the Houdini door. Just like before the lines on the metal walls seem to melt away to reveal a hidden door that leads to god knows what. By Vanya's best estimate it's been a couple of hours since she woke up but she could be wrong, taking into consideration that she's been drugged, hasn't eaten, and her concentration is more on not peeing then it is on counting the minutes that go by. She hasn't moved much beyond an occasional shift to try and get feeling back in her body, not like before where she thrashed, pushed, jerked, and twisted in her attempts to escape the hold the ropes have on her, she's to exhausted to attempt that. 

The nurse lady, Helen, from before is the one that walks through the door, she's alone. She's not pulling a cart with her this time but rather a wheelchair. Vanya ponders how a seemingly normal person gets involved with craziness like The Commission, how do shady organizations like that get employees? What is in it for the person that works for them, how do they live with themselves knowing that people are getting hurt by their employers? Helen looks like any other woman off the street, she doesn't look like anyone that would know anything about secret metal rooms and scared girls tethered to ceilings.

“Your names Helen...right?” Vanya takes a chance talking to her, she's less scared of saying the wrong things to Helen then she was to Ursula, Helen doesn't look like she enjoys mind games, so Vanya thinks it's safe for the most part, so she goes with a safe question she already knows the answer to.

Helen pauses in front of her and studies Vanya's form with a critical eye, a medical eye. Vanya almost squeaks with begging words not to leave when Helen turns around and marches right back out the cell, but she doesn't get a chance to because just as fast as she left, she returns, this time with a sturdy chair that she positions next to Vanya's body. Jumping on the chair she works the ropes with an air and ease that says this isn't the first time she's untied someone.

It takes far less time then she thinks it should to untie the ropes, they look very complicated and impossible to unravel to her eyes, but she doesn't have experience in tying people up so she guesses that to someone who does, it's no big deal. Her arms snap down with a weight that pulls the rest of her body down with them. Their tingling and stinging with the blood that's rushing to get where it needs to go. She's on the floor and as much as her body is pulsing with pain, she's no longer numb, the freezing floor is a relief to her sore body but it's short lived. Helen wastes no time in grasping her limp arm in her tiny hand and pulling her to sit in the wheelchair.

“Where are you taking me?” Helen doesn't answer her question, Vanya kind of hopes she's taking her to a bathroom because her steel bladder is going to burst soon and she doesn't want to deal with the aftermath of that if she can't get to a toilet soon.

She finds it odd that there's no one else with Helen, surely they don't think her that weak that she can't fight off a girl whose even shorter and skinnier then she is. She thinks this up until the door is reopened and she's wheeled out, and two buff guys line up on either side of her wheelchair. Their at least each a full foot and a half taller then Vanya and they each have tree trunks for arms, they have various weapons strapped to the belts that strain against the muscles of their hips. She tries not to have a full blown panic attack at the sight of them, she's thankful that like Helen they pretty much ignore her, just flake her sides and walk with shorter steps to match that of Helen's who is pushing the wheelchair.

Vanya lets her eyes roam over anything and everything, trying to memorize the layout of the room right outside her cell and also trying to determine which metal cell they have Klaus in. It's a lot like the layout of a hospital wing, there's a center that is filled with computers and desks, people in scrubs, both men and women, young and old, are behind the large desks, writing on clipboards, looking at the computers, talking to each other. The room is circular in it's design and lined on the walls are the metal cells, from the outside the lines of the doors are highlighted white so Vanya can see where one cell ends and the next one begins. Everything is made of metal it seems like, it's a sterile room that has no feeling or color to it, the lightest things in the room being the blue scrubs some of the staff wears.

When passing the computers Vanya peered closer to them, trying to see what was on them and why there was a need for so many. All the computers from what Vanya could tell were playing videos of the same thing, it was on closer inspection though that she could tell it might have looked like the same video but was actually different ones. They were of the inside of the metal cells, some were empty, others weren't, people were roped to the ceiling, some asleep, some struggling, all of them just as helpless as the next one.

Tears welled up in her eyes, she imagines she looked much the same as those people. She hadn't even seen a video camera in the cell, she didn't know they were recording her, watching her. Her eyes fast tracked their movements over each computer, doing their best to take in what they could before she was wheeled out. On one of the last computers she sees the form she's looking for. 

“Klaus!” Without thinking of the possible consequences, Vanya jumps out of the wheelchair, she has to grab onto the armrest part of the wheelchair to steady herself though when her head spins along with her stomach. Helen is trying to say something to her, but Vanya's ears are deaf to what she's saying. The trees that double as guards are now standing right up against her, the hard planes of their bodies are an unpleasant sensation on her overly exposed skin but still she doesn't stop. She tries sidestepping them when she gets a better handle of herself but she's tightly boxed between them, their gripping her already bruised wrists and are attempting to seat her back in the wheelchair.

From the spaces between their large arms her eyes track back to the screen of the computer that has Klaus on it. What it shows has the tears in Vanya's already watered eyes spilling over, Klaus is struggling against the rope, his body is rotating and turning in every which way he can, his mouth is open and moving, he's shouting something but she can't understand what. He's wearing something similar to her, but where she has a tank top, he has a muscle shirt, where she has shorts, he has sweat pants, both are black, both are not what they wore to bed before getting kidnapped. He looks insane, rapid like a wild animal desperate to get released from the trap they unintentionally got caught in.

“Please, he's my brother. I can't-I need...” Vanya tries explaining to them, she can't just leave him like that, she has to make sure he's okay, has to let him know that she's okay.

“Sit down,” Helen's voice is sharp, she's surprised to hear such a harsh thing come from such a delicate looking person.

“That's my brother! I need to see him!” She shouts back, she doesn't care right now about taking things with a calm exterior. Klaus is hurting, it's the only thing she's concerned with, she needs to stop his pain.

“We'll have to sedate you again and put you back in the ropes if you don't sit down,” Helen threatens her. She doesn't want to go back to the ropes, but she also doesn't want to stop her struggle to see Klaus, to get him out of the ropes.

“He'll be released when he's shown that he can be calm, sometimes it takes a little longer for some of the subjects. Once he's calm and IF he's on his best behavior, they'll think about letting you see each other,” Helen explains, she now has a firm hand alongside the guards hands and is lightly pushing her into the wheelchair. Not knowing what else to do, and knowing that they didn't have any reservations on drugging her again, Vanya sits back down. The guards immediately back away from her and resume their position to the sides of her wheelchair.

With a final look to Klaus, she's wheeled out of the room.

Out the double doors is a series of long hallways and a few doors, there's no windows like Vanya was hoping for. With no outside view she feels even more trapped, she could be in the middle of nowhere for all she knows. Nobody talks as she's wheeled passed a set of doors that are closed. It's not long before Helen stops in front of three big elevators and the guard to her left presses the button for it to come, in the elevator she sees that the building has multiple floors, the guard presses for the 3rd floor, they were on the 2nd.

The 3rd floor is much like the one before it, Vanya personally can't tell the difference. She's led through another set of double doors, their in a hallway with doors lining both sides of the walls. There's room numbers and slots for charts next to the doors, a scanner on each door handle as well. They come to a stop in front of a room labeled number 7, Helen pulls her name tag card (that apparently doubled as a security key) from her pants and holds it over the scanner, not a second later the door slides open and reveals a small room.

It's a bedroom, one of the plainest bedrooms Vanya has ever seen but a bedroom nonetheless. There's a twin bed with one pillow and blue sheets with a thin blue blanket pushed up against the far wall, a nightstand next to it, a dresser is on another wall, and there's a door towards the back of the room. In the top corner of the ceiling facing the entire room is a red light from a tiny camera, it flashes every few seconds, at least this camera she can see unlike the other one. Like everywhere else that she's seen from this building, there are no windows.

“This is where you'll be staying. In the dresser you'll find clothing similar to what you have on, beyond that door is a bathroom with simple toiletries,” Helen sounds like she's said these lines many times before, Vanya is upset, it's wrong that she's just another “subject” in a long line of them to receive this speech.

“With good behavior comes perks such as books to read and time spent with other subjects, constant bad behavior will result in you being sedated and put back in the cell you just came from,” Helen drones on, Vanya is only half paying attention to her. It's a cell with a bed and a toilet, only a minor upgrade from her previous cell.

“A meal will be-”

“I'll be able to see Klaus?” Vanya interrupts, they don't seem to understand or they don't care, one or the other, the need to see her twin. She feels vacant without him near, like she's not all here and present in the space, and in a way she's not. Klaus has a part of her with him just as she has a part of him with her and together their complete but separated their defective.

“A meal will be brought to you shortly, in the meantime take a shower and rest,” Helen bypasses her question. One of the guards helps her out of the wheelchair and onto the bed before backing away from her and taking up position next to the other guard who stands by the door, blocking it like she's going to attempt to run. 

“Please,” It's a simple word but an effective one, Helen sighs with irritation but she talks.

“That's going to depend on your brother, if he stops struggling then you guys have a higher chance of being allowed to see each other,” at least Helen is honest with her, Vanya hopes Klaus just stops fighting for now, the sooner they can see each other the sooner they can plan an escape. She tries pressing her luck with another question.

“How long has it been since you kidnapped us?” Vanya bluntly asks, she sees no reason to try to skirt around what they did by softly asking how much time has passed.

“That information is not allowed to be disclosed to subjects,” Helen isn't the one who answers her, one of the guards is, the one with dark brown hair and a crooked nose. The other one has blonde hair and freckles everywhere, they look vaguely familiar now that Vanya is getting a better look at them but she's coming up blank with trying to place where she has seen them before. 

Just as she's opening her mouth to argue that she has a right to know, the guard who answered her gives a pointed look to Helen and together they all three rush from the room, the click of the lock is heard when the door is closed.

It's quiet now, not like it was in the apartment, she thought that was the worse thing but in the apartment she didn't realize the hum that the refrigerator provided or the noise that came through from the street next to the complex, or the background sounds the neighbors that had an over abundance of kids that always seemed to be playing outside provided. Vanya knows true silence now, she misses the noises that she took for granted, the apartment compared to this might as well have been a circus show complete with dancing elephants and trained tigers.

Her stomach lets out a loud roar and Vanya as pitifully as it sounds is grateful for the noise, it helps take her mind off of the silence. She's shaky when she stands from the bed to inspect the room more closely. She starts with opening the drawer on the nightstand, it's empty so she moves on to the dresser. Inside the first drawer is a bottle of scented lotion, a stick of deodorant, and a hair brush, along with a packet of three hair ties. The second drawer holds tank tops like the one she has on, the third holds the booty shorts, the forth has black panties (she takes a peak into her own shorts and shudders when she sees a similar pair on her body), the fifth has black socks, and the last drawer has black slippers and a pair of black tennis shoes, there are no bras which is unfortunate, she would feel more secure with herself if she had that extra layer of clothing. 

Walking into the bathroom the first thing she looks for is a camera, she's beyond relieved when her search comes up empty, there's still a possibility that there is one in here she can't see but she'll take what she can get.

Like the bedroom the bathroom is almost painfully plain, there's a toilet, a sink with no mirror but with a drawer that holds a toothbrush, toothpaste, mouthwash, bandages, and antibiotic ointment. There's a shower/bath combo that has shampoo, conditioner, body wash, a bar soap, and a sponge. On the opposite wall to the toilet is a cabinet, inside it is rolls of toilet paper, towels small, medium, and large, extra blankets and pillows as well, there's a hamper in the corner with a blue bag in it hospital style. Vanya hopes she's the first one to use these products, that there not passed down from a different person who stayed in the room before her, especially the toothbrush and the panties.  

Vanya wants to be rebellious and not take a shower as she was told, she doesn't want to use their products, doesn't want to be grateful to have them, but guiltily she is grateful, they could be withholding these products from her, treating her more like an animal and let her sit in her own filth.

With those thoughts she starts taking off the clothing she has on to take a much needed hot shower to wash the dried blood, sweat, and tears away.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you guys enjoyed 🙂


End file.
